


Behind Thin Glass

by Gigi_Bell



Series: Fantasy [11]
Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: (only mentioned), Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Dystopia, Alternate Universe - Mutants, Amnesia, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Experimentation, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, MAMA Era Powers (EXO), Romance, Suicidal Thoughts, True Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-01-04
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:20:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,288
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28210806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gigi_Bell/pseuds/Gigi_Bell
Summary: “Were we lovers before all this?”Chanyeol swallowed thickly and shuffled back onto his cot, facing the glass wall between them tearfully, “We are.”“I’m sorry. I’ll try to remember more.”(Where people are seen as non-human for having gifts, and Chanyeol just really wants Baekhyun back)
Relationships: Byun Baekhyun/Park Chanyeol
Series: Fantasy [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2055237
Comments: 7
Kudos: 61





	Behind Thin Glass

“You assholes! Let me out! Let me out!” Chanyeol snarled and banged on the white metal door, “I’ll kill you!” 

It was a useless effort and the beep that sounded before the small window on the door was being closed just felt like another fuck you to his anger.

Fuck, if only he didn’t have this goddamn collar on and then he’d fucking fry them to death.

Chanyeol hissed and kicked the door once more just to try and get his anger out, which just ended in him limping as he twisted around and looked around.

He was in an all white room, so white it hurt his eyes.

The only thing inside was a small cot that he just knew his fucking legs would hang off him and further irritate him.

But, there was a glass wall on one side.

It made him frown and walk over to it, still feeling drowsy by whatever he’d been  _ fucking _ shot with that had enough strength to take down an elephant.

The effects had worn off in the van he’d been stuffed into, but not before he’d been stripped of all weapons and changed into all white clothing.

_ Fucking scientists and white, _ he growled.

Chanyeol placed his fingers on the small gaps in the glass -  _ or _ plexiglass because when he hit it, it didn’t even budge, but it wasn’t quite firm like pure glass - he tried to curl his fingers inside the slots but they didn’t fit all the way through.

His mouth was in a permanent scowl as he tried to peer in.

He felt a rush of hope flood through him as he noticed that the thin white blanket in the cot across and in the other room wasn’t flat.

Someone was in there.

He couldn’t see with the limited lights and he couldn’t light up a fire while this collar was on him.

“Hey!” He tried, hitting the glass, “Hey! Hey! Which one are you!” 

Chanyeol didn’t even see the form move which was insane because he was yelling.

Off the top of his head he tried to recall the list of missing people like him, but he was still much too groggy to try and deal with it right now.

Chanyeol groaned and grabbed his head, leaning into his palm and taking a seat on the cot as he racked his brain trying to figure out how the  _ fuck _ he’d just gotten taken.

See, people like him had to stick together.

And unfortunately, people like him were unwanted in society.

People with powers - gifts as some called them.

Although it didn’t feel much like a gift when those who exposed their powers had to hide from the public; they were made to seem  _ monstrous _ by the media.

Propaganda was played showing clips of destruction seemingly caused by their kind.

Only that wasn’t the truth at all.

The truth was all the explosions, lives lost, and violence were them trying to protect people of their kind from being killed or experimented on.

They had a group, they had families, they had safe places for these people.

But one little slip up could change it all, and now Chanyeol could only hope he’d been the only person stolen or that the others had died.

Realistically, he knew not all of them could have gotten caught.

Jongin definitely did not, and along with him his boyfriend would have been the man's top priority to save from the raid. 

And he knew at least Changkyun - a boy who could ghost around, turning unseen, would be safe.

Chanyeol, being over six foot and having red hair, didn’t have such a lucky time and he was more a fighter than a hider anyway.

_ Bombing,  _ they called it - in which one of them took one for the group and distracted, caused a scene.

Chanyeol didn’t have anything to lose like everyone else, not anymore, and he hadn’t in over a year, so he wanted to do something in order to help.

At the first yell from their seer, a young, doe eyed boy named Jungkook, they had begun to go for their emergency supplies, jumping into cars and preparing the children to hide.

But Chanyeol already knew, and didn’t prepare.

The look Yifan and Minseok sent him was a warning, and he remembered Jongdae shocking him and telling him  _ don’t get stupid ideas in your fucking head, dumbass. _

Stupid ideas seemed what Chanyeol was good at, because nobody could stop him from going to the edge of town and waiting for the government to arrive.

And they’d tried. 

Minseok tried to freeze him, useless when he melted free; Kyungsoo punched him so hard he had lost breath for a good few seconds until Yixing healed him out of pity when watching him stumble for breath; Sehun had changed wind direction in hopes of slowing him down.

Chanyeol still made it to the edge of town - he made it with fire in his eyes and he  _ waited. _

Luhan kept sending messages to him, which meant he knew they were still near, still in town; he hoped they’d gotten everyone out and safe at their next bunker, the next hideout.

It was  _ his _ fault they were coming to raid anyway, it was his fault because he knew even the smallest slip up was a danger for them all.

And Chanyeol had a lapse in judgement. A light beam had poured in at just the right angle to send a sentimental feeling in his chest when he had walked through the forest.

_ For certain light, his fire always raged.  _

After just a small slip of lighting, a flame in his hand as he passed it through a sliver of light, and it was  _ all _ it took.

A month later and word spread, now they were all dead.

It was Chanyeol’s fault, and he deserved it. And only regretted the terror and pain he’d caused.

And if the light was still around, he still would have met it with fire despite the consequences.

Because fire and light  _ always _ mixed well.

***

Every night Chanyeol dreamed of white hair and eyes filled with the reflection of red and orange.

Every night for the past year it’s all he saw, all he dreamed of.

Sometimes there was laughter in the background, but the scene was always the same - always guilting him and wishing he’d just  _ fucking _ done something differently.

He knew the colors of fire, of burning, but in deep brown eyes it always seemed that much more intense and dug into his chest.

_ Like the memory of a scream, an explosion. _

Pain in the head and then nothing.

Literally, he’d awoken to nothing but a damp rag on his head although his thoughts were demanding answers,  _ he was missing something,  _ he yelled.

Chanyeol had been met with pitiful looks. 

He screamed and always woke up.

The only problem was, his dream wasn’t a dream, and it was real, it was how he lost the love of his life.

Chanyeol had been inside the facility three days before he finally heard movement from the glass cell beside his.

He’d taken all three days to try and figure out why the person had a different cell than his that was metal and freezing.

And after the second day he was nearly positive it was because the other was dead because the person hadn’t moved at all.

Until the person  _ did,  _ and it was when the light poured into the cell from a built in light in the ceiling, forcing the figure to awake as if second nature.

The light was strange, it wasn’t a normal, yellow tinted light that most lightbulbs give off, but a white and warm light that seemed it was replicating the sun.

Black hair bounced around and Chanyeol's attention was attracted to the movement, looking away from the blanket he’d been trying to figure out whether it would break if he strangled someone with it - because he wanted to. 

Chanyeol heard a yawn and frowned, “I thought you were dead there, been trying to talk to you for days.” 

The back of the person stiffened up before almost instantly they were jumping from the cot and showing their form more clearly.

Almost sickly was how Chanyeol would describe the person.

But, as the form crossed underneath the lightbulb over their head, hand holding onto the wall as if walking was painful, Chanyeol's head started to hurt but nothing compared to the pain in his chest.

_ “Baekhyun?” _

Chanyeol sobbed although his tears hadn’t even filled his eyes yet, mouth pulled into a pained expression and he didn’t even flinch as he tripped over his blanket when he scrambled to the glass, scratching his nails over it. 

The last he’d seen of the other was in the explosion a year before.

Baekhyun was always much more selfless than him, and he had more of a conscience.

A little girl had caused a town havoc, powers unlike any a child should have at such a young age and Baekhyun was always a person for second chances no matter how much of a debate saving the girl had been when she’d injured a few people in a mere tantrum.

In the end, it was their cause. She was one of their own and she could be saved just as they’d done for Sehun - only a ten year old when he’d been playing with his powers and a man walked into the child’s strong breeze… their neck  _ snapped  _ as if a mere stick because of the winds Sehun created.

Or Kyungsoo who had hugged his pet too tightly it stopped kicking and his parents had sent him to a church “camp” to be cleansed of sins.

They  _ could _ be saved, Baekhyun believed.

And Baekhyun was firm in his beliefs because when he was a young boy he’d burned his mother's eyes, blinded her at age three and even then... she’d supported him despite all of that. 

They had spotted the girl at the end of the street, a line of vehicles blocking the girl and gunned soldiers pointing things at her, ordering her to stop, a bunny toy just sitting in her hand as she tried to understand at age  _ two,  _ what was happening.

What the scientists and people never tried to understand was that even if they were different, they were still the same.

She was still a two year old that needed to be spoken to as if a two year old, she didn’t know what _ stand down and put your hands up!  _ implied when faced with officers; of course she wasn’t going to do it, and had only cried at them yelling at her.

Chanyeol told Baekhyun no, that it was  _ too late  _ and  _ I’m sorry but we need to go.  _

He didn’t listen, and was always hard headed and angry if things had to do with children.

Baekhyun was perhaps the most powerful of them all, and he’d blinded the officers as he ran in.

It wasn’t a good plan, so Chanyeol yelled that  _ just _ as Baekhyun had grabbed the girl and a clicking noise sounded, it was a familiar sound - that of a grenade clip hitting the ground. 

Terrified brown eyes met his, implanted in his memory.

Chanyeol was immune to fire and Baekhyun was, to a degree, immune to the heat of it.

The last thing he saw were those  _ eyes _ and Baekhyun holding the girl to his chest before his own head hit the ground because he was  _ not _ immune to head injuries.

Brown eyes haunted him forever, and here they were, only the look was different.

Baekhyun was now sitting on the other side of the glass and Chanyeol was fully sobbing, clawing at the glass as if it could do anything. 

_ “Baby, oh - my sun, I’m so sorry - sorry, baby. Sweet love bug. I’m sorry! Baekhyun, s-sorry!” _

The other tilted his head to the side, hair no longer white, but black and that in itself was a cause for concern but Chanyeol couldn't analyze anything but the smile spreading across dull and hollow cheeks. 

“I’m sorry. Do I know you?”

***

The light in Baekhyun’s cell was used as the only form of UV light the man could get, the only thing keeping him alive at this point.

It was the reason Baekhyun’s hair was no longer white since - when healthy - he absorbed the light and it bleached his hair like how a plant turned green when photosynthesizing, but  _ now _ he wasn’t getting enough light; he was too sick to take in the light as they didn’t even leave it on long enough for him to bask in it.

They’d leave it on for only short periods of time before it would flicker off and Baekhyun would visually dim, his body would tremble without it.

Chanyeol remembered how they always got the rooms closest to the outside in case Baekhyun needed the exposure, and if they were in a normal home above ground they got the room with the best lighting.

Once, they’d even gotten a room with a glass ceiling and it had always been their favorite home they had ever hidden out in because Baekhyun had so much energy, he’d been so happy and  _ bloomed. _

Now, the word seemed foreign as Baekhyun couldn't move from his bed when they didn’t flip on his light, as if they’d forgotten he needed such things.

And he was stick thin.

Thinner than Chanyeol had ever seen him, and thinner than he himself had been - which said a lot because Chanyeol was a twig when he’d first joined the movement.

They didn’t feed Baekhyun as they should. 

Sure, in a way the lights provided him nutrients in the same way a flower bloomed when photosynthesizing, because that was part of his gift, but they seemed to not realize that Baekhyun was  _ still _ a man and he needed food like everyone else did.

Chanyeol had been given meals on a daily basis and today was the first day - in nearly a week and a half - that he’d seen Baekhyun with more than a spoonful of some sort of mush.

The object itself led Chanyeol to be confused because he didn’t get utensils, but he understood now it was because Baekhyun wasn’t a threat.

Because he didn’t remember much at all.

In the past if someone ever considered Baekhyun anything but a threat they would have been taken to the floor and forced to eat their words, but not anymore.

Baekhyun  _ really _ wasn’t a threat and that hurt Chanyeol's heart more than he could form into words because they’d spent years earning him that right given he was small and often looked over.

“How did you say we knew each other again?” Chanyeol heard the soft voice ask, echoing into his room through the three slits that filtered air into the glass room. 

“Through the movement.” 

“I’ve heard the movement is bad.” 

“Do you know that or is it only what you’ve been told?” Chanyeol said, knees pressed to the glass as he chewed a piece of bread.

Baekhyun was still on his cot, a blanket wrapped around his thin shoulders but Chanyeol could still see the numbers  _ 04 _ on the collar of his turtleneck, because that’s all they were. They were just numbers to these humans.

Chanyeol had half a mind to wonder what Baekhyun’s file said, maybe something like  _ 04, The Human Flower.  _ Maybe  _ 04, Light Wielder.  _

Chanyeol could merely laugh when thinking of his own, picturing what sort of headlines were running all over the news about him and the gift of  _ fire. _

“I guess I haven’t been told much at all, I just overhear things… nobody speaks much to me,” Baekhyun mumbled as if embarrassed, “It’s been a long time since I’ve had a cellmate.” 

Chanyeol shifted his jaw until it popped while he leaned back on his palms and he wanted to  _ scream _ until his face was red and veins crowned his forehead, because Baekhyun was  _ social _ and  _ educated _ and now he was reduced to someone who whispered of his dreams and asked if they were memories. 

There was nothing wrong with those things, but they  _ weren’t  _ Baekhyun. 

Luckily, Baekhyun happened to have gotten his lover of  _ eight years _ as a cellmate. 

They had been together ever since Baekhyun had brought him flowers and asked him, a lanky and awkward seventeen year old, if Chanyeol would be his date to a celebration dance the older group members were putting on for the school aged children.

They tried to give gifted children the same experience as normal ones, and even if it  _ was _ simply a dance in a cement room beneath one of their many hideouts, it had still been enough for the pair to fall in love.

Despite Chanyeol being so flustered he could barely stand to look at Baekhyun. He was always so radiant, even back then.

So,  _ yes,  _ Chanyeol knew Baekhyun down to the rosiness of his chest and the way he liked to be held.

“When was your last cellmate removed?” 

“I’m not positive, but I do know he never came back.” 

Chanyeol nodded stiffly and was glad even if having simple, vague memories, Baekhyun still understood that his situation was  _ bad.  _

He wasn’t brainwashed, only confused. 

Chanyeol was sure it had to do with the explosion. He had been knocked out cold by it, and Baekhyun was much smaller than him… he couldn’t imagine how far Baekhyun could have been shot back.

“Okay, starlight.” Chanyeol muttered, wanting to change the subject because the abuse of his lover wasn’t something he wanted to speak about, “I’ll be shoving this into your side in case you find the energy to come receive it,” He explained, picking up a thin pack of crackers to fit through the slots.

Ideally, protein was what Baekhyun needed, but Chanyeol couldn't possibly fit the meat onto his plate through there without utensils.

Perhaps he could bite pieces off and push it through, but then again, he didn’t want them to fall onto the dirt and have Baekhyun get sicker eating dirty food; only god knows when the other cell was last cleaned.

“Why do you call me that?” 

Chanyeol smiled at the memory and familiar, curious tone, “You once told me, when we were teenagers, that you wanted your gift to be as radiating as the sun and stars.” 

“That sounds like me,” The elder laughed and although it sounded tired, it still made Chanyeol light up. 

“Of course it does,” Chanyeol smiled, “And you know what I told you?”

Baekhyun hummed, shifting to lay down with his meal for the day clutched near his lips.

At that angle the sharpness of his cheekbone was pointier than the edge of the granola bar in his hand. 

“I told you that you were already powerful enough and simply hadn’t found it yet.” 

Baekhyun smiled really wide, his teeth looked brittle from lack of nutrients he’d been given the past year, rolling onto his back, “I think I remember that.” 

“Do you?” Chanyeol whispered softly.

“Yes, and I think… maybe I had a special name for you too? Maybe… I can’t really recall much..” 

“You used to call me many names,” The younger grinned, wishing Baekhyun had more energy to talk but it was obvious he was exhausted, “But you  _ did _ call me your ember, because you said you liked the glow of my palms when they cooled down.” 

Baekhyun didn’t respond immediately, but he did turn his head to the side to look at him, a hand on his temple as if his head was in pain,  _ “Chanyeol?” _

“Yes, baby.” 

“Were we lovers before all this?” 

Chanyeol swallowed thickly and shuffled back onto his cot, facing the glass wall between them tearfully,  _ “We are.”  _

“I’m sorry. I’ll try to remember more.”

***

“Chanyeol?” 

The younger grunted weakly in response, eyes closed as he attempted to relax, but he couldn't feel very relaxed at the moment.

Not when he’d woken up to muffled talking and a light over his head, IV’s removing the blood from his body and all his limbs strapped to a chair.

As soon as they’d noticed he was awake, they’d given him an even heavier tranquilizer as if he was an  _ animal. _

Chanyeol supposed he was because they were met with snapping teeth as soon as he could process that he was a fucking lab experiment.

So, no, he wasn’t feeling the best even if they’d actually given him water bottles and packages of food as if trying to simply keep him alive when they tried to see why his genes were different than most of the population. 

If Baekhyun wasn’t here then he would rip the bandages off his arms as a  _ fuck you  _ and hope he would just fucking bleed out, because he didn’t give a fuck and it would piss them off.

But Chanyeol wouldn’t do that now, because he had more worries than just finding the fastest way to die.

“I had a memory earlier.” 

Baekhyun sounded shy and bashful, and it made Chanyeol twist his head to the side to look at him, “Go ahead, baby.” 

He heard the elder clear his throat, and grinned tiredly at the action of Baekhyun digging his cheek into his palm, “It’s a bit inappropriate.” 

“Trust me, there’s  _ nothing _ I haven’t heard from you before.” 

It didn’t seem to help Baekhyun’s bashfulness at all, because he giggled and tucked his knees up with a shy smile. 

Chanyeol felt his body burning off the tranquilizer and was glad; he didn’t want to miss a moment of sweetness he hadn’t had or seen in a year. 

“I remember.. you… I think.. we must have been doing something  _ far _ from appropriate..” The smaller mumbled with a light laugh, eyes looking at his fingers, “You were.. laying down on your back and I was very happy I think, because the noises.. were inappropriate. And I was.. sitting on your lap.. and we were sweating, and you looked so happy.” 

Normally, if Baekhyun was shy about mentioning sex Chanyeol would have teased him to death because the elder was  _ not _ shy about that subject.

But he was reminded this version of Baekhyun had many holes to fill, memories with blanks and needing help to find them places to permanently stay.

Yixing and Luhan would likely find something to help, whether it be swelling from the explosion, perhaps his brain was rattled around, and if it was mental then Luhan could break the walls down for him.

Chanyeol just knew Baekhyun was  _ trying _ and it was more than he’d gotten the past year when Baekhyun was missing.

“You were in love with being loved,” Chanyeol explained softly, “To be held and kissed, of course I know your body, Baekhyun. For a long time you’ve known mine, and I’ve known yours; we always made each other happy. Things like happiness were hard to find back then, but for us it was  _ easy.”  _

“It sounds nice,” Baekhyun sounded apologetic, fingers placed by his mouth, and if his body was capable of flushing it would be, “Was I a good lover to you?”

“You are, and you have so much love to give to me,” He whispered with a fond and reminiscent smile, “Whether it be in words or with your touch, you always made time to give me your affection even when times were hard. To be in love with you, Baekhyun, was a dream come true and only better when you love me also. I’d give anything to hold you right now and kiss you, and even love you if that’s what you wanted.” 

Baekhyun’s face pulled together and the likeliness of tears was high seeing as his voice cracked when he tried to speak, and he curled his fingers into the pillow beside his head in pain.

Physical pain because his heart was hurting and Chanyeol knew the feeling, he wished he could help, but Chanyeol could only feel his eyes water as he groggily moved to the glass.

The smaller on the other side tried to get up, and it was a struggle as he was so weak; Baekhyun held the wall and his knees shook with exhaustion until he could finally get to the three slots in the glass.

Unlike Chanyeol, Baekhyun had dainty fingers, but they were boney now and thin enough that the elder fit them into the three slots, curling his three mid fingers into them.

“I’m so sorry I’m not what you remember.” 

Chanyeol touched his fingers, was able to hold onto the three digits and even lean over to kiss the knuckles, pressing his forehead against them even if he must have looked ridiculous.

He  _ was _ ridiculous though and loved Baekhyun so much, Chanyeol didn’t care what he looked like when these were still the same hands that held his, and the same person that shared his bed for the past eight years - he wished it would have been nine.

“Sh, I love you. I still love you, I don’t care about anything else now.” 

They both laid crying against the glass, Baekhyun’s fingers pulled through the slots and enveloped in Chanyeol's palm.

His fingers were so thin that Chanyeol was afraid it was hurting the elder to have them curled into the edges of the glass, but he didn’t want to remove himself from touching Baekhyun.

“Did you think I was beautiful before? My body?” Baekhyun asked with a sniff, eyes swollen red and his skin was so pale and Chanyeol noticed that so close he could see his skin looked dry and dehydrated along with the rest of him. 

“You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.” Chanyeol answered instantly once he realized he must have been staring to have gotten such a question from Baekhyun. 

But the truth was he was just trying to figure out if he could fit any of the snacks he’d been given to help him recover through the holes. 

“In.. in my memories.. I was different,” Baekhyun cried, he shifted so his hip was against the glass and his unoccupied hand was fiddling with his clothes. “I’m no longer the same.” 

Chanyeol was about to argue that he was the same, he shared the same beauty, he was only a bit sick right now but still beautiful.

Baekhyun rolled down the sleeve of his shirt while holding onto the glass, and then he lifted his pant leg to show his ankles too.

Circular scars littered his skin, puncture wounds, there were some straight lines as if surgical incisions and even a fresh line of what looked like week old stitches across his left ankle.

Chanyeol could only wonder what was beneath the rest of his clothes.

He sat up straight for one minute to process what he was seeing.

And then he broke down.. sobbed, screamed.

All the while telling Baekhyun he was  _ still beautiful.  _

It was so unfair.

***

Chanyeol woke up to strange noises today, and sometimes it was because people came into his cell to change out the towels in his washroom, and Chanyeol  _ always  _ tried to strangle them.

But, this was different.

He woke up to muffled speaking and once he realized it wasn’t  _ Baekhyun _ , or a nurse digging in his wash area, he sat up, alert.

Doctors were hovering over Baekhyun’s cot, they were speaking in hushed murmurs.

He caught the words  _ blood _ and  _ overexposure to light  _ and panicked.

Chanyeol screamed, gaining their attention as he ran to slam his hands against the glass, “Hey! Stop! You’re going to kill him! Stop!”

They didn’t seem irritated at all by his fit, in fact they simply ignored it and that in itself pissed him off even more.

He yelled like a raging lunatic, smashing fists against the glass and kicking at it as if it would magically break beneath his anger.

“You goddamn  _ psychos!  _ You don’t understand! You don’t understand you’re killing him!” 

Chanyeol continued his wailing for a good few minutes before he finally got their attention, and it seemed they were fed up with his screaming rage.

An elderly man sighed as if such a fit was normal and annoying, a clipboard in his hand and some sort of black remote in his palm as he clicked his tongue and walked towards the glass. “I don’t believe we’ve met.” 

Chanyeol would spit on him if he could, chest heaving as he watched nurses begin transferring Baekhyun’s limp body into a moveable cot.

“You’re killing him,” He growled, “He has the gift of light, he needs to see the sun and to eat like a normal person! You’re killing him and I’m going to fucking kill  _ you _ for hurting him.” 

“His cells indeed do show an overreaction to UV rays,” The man said with a slight nod before sighing, “Mr. Park, I am Doctor Lee Jungsoon, I’m the overseer in the Experimental Department of Treatments for Genetic Abnormalities, and I’m afraid your opinions will  _ not _ hinder our progress in understanding this mutation of chromosomes.” 

Chanyeol's mouth dropped when he realized he had the head of experimentation in front of him.

How badly he wanted to burn him alive as he slammed his palms flat on the glass, “Have you  _ ever _ considered we are fine as we are!” 

Of course he knew the man just found his kind dangerous, the look in his eye was more disgust than anything and that in itself was answer enough.

Still though, Chanyeol didn’t get a direct answer, the doctor just sort of looked him over with disinterest and turned to walk away, “Send the light one to surgery.”

**_Surgery_ **

Baekhyun was fine, he was fine as he was he didn’t  _ need _ any fucking surgery.

Chanyeol had no idea of the meaning of such a surgery and that angered him more than anything.

“You asshole! I’ll kill you! Just fucking wait! You fucking wait and you’re  _ dead! Dead! Dead!” _

Chanyeol screamed and shook with rage, unable to control himself as his plans began to heat up, he held it to the glass.

“Sir! He’s beginning to melt it!” 

Chanyeol smirked nastily as the glass began to drip, but it lasted too little of time before the doctor sent him an unimpressed look and was pressing a button on his remote.

The collar around his neck tightened and Chanyeol's body rocked with a shock, gasping and removing his hands to curl around the collar, trying to pull at the metal on his neck.

Chanyeol was losing air and vision fast with the combination of electricity and tightening of the collar on his windpipe, flailing and finding his world spinning as he fell to the ground with muffled and wet coughs.

“Mr. Park, you’re one of the toughest we’ve had yet, but don’t worry… we’ll break you in.” 

Chanyeol tried to get his last  _ fuck you _ out, but the last thing he could focus on was the way Baekhyun’s arm hung limp over the side of the wheelchair as he was pulled out.

***

Chanyeol woke up with a loud wheezing hiss, hands trying to find purchase on his throat but instead found them restrained.

He’d passed out on the floor, he recalled that much, but now Chanyeol was back in his bed with straps on his wrists.

“Stay down, i've been assigned to clean you up.” 

Chanyeol wanted to spit and argue even though he had a lack of energy.

But he didn’t have to.

The smile that greeted him was a dimpled one and familiar, and not too far was a golden haired man dressed in the same blue scrubs pushing a tray of food inside.

_ Luhan _ he thought.

The man smiled and looked at him with a sly grin, “Mr. Park, if you behave then you’re going to be given better meals.” 

_Play along._ Luhan said in his head.

Chanyeol tried to react with a playful kick at Yixing, “Yeah, like you’ve been giving to Baekhyun, huh?” He hissed as best he could with only relief running through him.

Yixing’s brows pulled together in confusion from where he was standing over him, wrapping a bandage around his head, but Chanyeol didn’t feel any pain and knew he’d been healed from hitting it on the ground. Yixing was just buying them some time.

“Baekhyun?”

They didn’t know, Chanyeol tried his best to just look angry, livid as he stared up at the ceiling,  _ He’s been here a year, they took him to surgery. He’s dying,  _ He thought for Luhan to hear.

Luhan dropped the tray a bit too loud onto the floor for it to be on purpose, kneeling down to steady the items on it.  _ We’re sorry it took this long, we had to get everyone safe, but Jongin snuck in and got us badges and uniforms. Namjoon hacked the system to change the photos, we’re trying to get you out within another month. One month in here has been long for you, but if you’re telling the truth…one year... _

_ I’ll stay here for a fucking year so long as you guys get Baekhyun out,  _ Chanyeol thought without a second to waste.

Chanyeol turned his head away from Yixing, trying to seem difficult, but it was because his eyes were filled with tears. 

_ Yixing and I will go back immediately to reformulate. As soon as possible we’ll have this place blown open for us to storm, but as far as we have seen, it’s only this hallway of cells and… only the two of you.. _

That meant everyone else was dead.

Everyone they had been trying to find were dead and Chanyeol didn’t personally know any of them.

But that didn’t mean they didn’t have lives they could have lived, that didn’t mean they weren’t people to be remembered. 

He cried silently, and didn’t care if he wasn’t showing pure anger right now because Yixing touched his cheek as discreetly as he could, a soft sign of affection that was more than he’d gotten in a month.

Chanyeol wanted to hug them and cry because they were his  _ family _ and they were going to take care of them. And he hadn’t realized how useless he felt until now.

_ And _ selfish because he was just glad it had been strangers rather than Baekhyun, because a year from now it could be the elder, it very well could be Baekhyun on the list of deaths.

As it was right now, he wasn’t, and Chanyeol was glad.

_ Baekhyun’s mind is split, he doesn’t remember much, so if you see him, don’t be surprised if he won’t remember you. _

_ Just get some rest, you deserve it, Yeol. _

_ Baekhyun deserves it much more. _ He thought, rolling his head to the side to look at the disheveled and empty bed beyond the glass.

***

Baekhyun was brought in two days later, and Chanyeol wasn’t surprised it was the pair wheeling him in, and the first thing Yixing did was look through the glass wall, and his eyes shone with knowledge this time, because he was no mind reader like Luhan.

They had food and water for Baekhyun, and it was more than he could have asked for.

Chanyeol’s first thought was to move and press against the glass, running his fingers over the indent of his palm that was melted into it now, just beside the three slits.

“Chanyeol…” Baekhyun was awake, but barely, eyes adjusting slowly and it showed as he squinted and blinked while Yixing grabbed his arm to help him to his bed.

Chanyeol wondered if the healer was trying to help heal him when he brushed his hand against Baekhyun’s fingers, because Yixing had a searching look on his face, or if it was simply because he missed Baekhyun too and it must be killing them to not see the recognition in the others eyes.

“Hi, baby,” Chanyeol rumbled, voice hoarse from his treatment days before.

“I get spoiled when I don’t act up,” The elder commented, eyeing the basket of snacks Luhan was putting directly by the bed.

Chanyeol would hardly call that being spoiled when he needed more nutrients than that, but it was much more than the other got normally. “Are you hurting?” 

If he noticed the two “nurses” taking much longer than normal he didn’t mention it.

Baekhyun did look at them oddly though, a small furrow in his brow as Luhan picked up empty water bottles and wrappers from the floor.

They usually had staff come in when they were resting to pick up their trash and add clean towels to the small restroom areas.

It was really just a room with a small toilet and a sink, but Chanyeol would kill for an actual shower right now - but he was glad it seemed Baekhyun had been washed up because his hair no longer looked as clumped up.

In his weakness, the other wasn’t able to go clean himself off as much as Chanyeol could. 

“No, I feel nothing.” 

Yixing flashed a small smile and it confirmed earlier suspicions.

_ He has gaps in memory, it could be a head injury.  _ Luhan told him,  _ I’m not really sure I can try to remove it right now, because I will need a lot more time and Yixing’s needs to get some rest after using it on him already... Plus, it’s best we get him out of here first, you know how mad Baekhyun can get, so an innocent Baekhyun is good for right now. _

Chanyeol smiled because he did know the other had a bad temper.

And mad would be putting it lightly once Baekhyun got his memories back and knew how compliant he had been for the staff here.

“What have they done to you this time, starlight?” 

Luhan looked at Baekhyun with pity in his eyes as Chanyeol said the nickname, silently following Yixing out of the door before the metal scrapped and signaled their leave.

Baekhyun was pulling his shirt up as soon as they were leaving, exposing a bandage around his waist, “They said my veins were too hard to find on my arms now, so they had to make an incision.” 

They didn’t  _ have _ to do shit. 

“Why don’t you remove that bandage, beautiful? I want to make sure all went well.” 

Baekhyun sent him a confused look, but didn’t find anything odd with his request, unpeeling the bandage from his side.

The smaller gasped loud at the clear skin beneath, gawking and looking between the wound and Chanyeol before dramatically opening his eyes wide.

“You must heal so quickly, Baekhyun,” Chanyeol smiled fondly, “Magical, my baby.” 

“You’ve done something!” Baekhyun accused with an amazed look in his eyes as he stumbled up to go to the glass. “You must have!” 

“You’re just amazing, that's all.” The younger laughed, readying by sitting on his knees by the holes in the glass.

Yixing had an amazing gift, an ability to shift cells to heal or destroy.

He recalled when they were younger; Baekhyun played this exact trick on him, because he hadn’t known at the time Yixing had that gift.

He just remembered crying like a child because he’d fallen down the ladder of the bunker and broke his ankle and that shit  _ hurt _ okay.

Baekhyun used this exact trick and left Chanyeol wondering for weeks how his ankle had gotten unswollen and unbruised after a stop at the infirmary.

Of course the elder wouldn’t remember the event now.

“Woah, what’s this?” Baekhyun ooed, placing his hand over the glass which on his side was pushed towards him more, laying his hand over the curving glass.

Chanyeol felt a rush of tears want to fall as it showed the differences between their hands, the thin fingers and smaller hand resting over the imprint cutely.

It reminded him how Baekhyun liked to hold his, to squeeze his palm and lean into his side, standing on his toes to kiss his cheek.

“I got a bit hot headed, no need to worry.” 

“I feel as though I always worry about you, I can feel that now too.” 

“Yeah?”

Baekhyun nodded and smiled prettily, “I had so much time to think and I remember a lot of things and.. and people? I’m not sure exactly, I can never see their faces, but I see yours.”

To be so special that Baekhyun only saw him felt like some sort of cheesy joke the elder would say to him, but it  _ did _ make him feel special. It did remind him that even if things weren’t ideal he held a small piece of Baekhyun nobody else could.

“Thank you,” Chanyeol whispered no matter how strange a response it was, because he felt it needed to be said, “For being alive still, Baekhyun, I couldn’t have lived much longer on this self destructive path without you.” 

Baekhyun’s face dropped at the confession, shoving his fingers through the gap in the glass as fast as he possibly could while being so groggy, “Don’t say that, Yeol.” He growled.

It sounded almost like the old Baekhyun, the one that yelled when he was confused; this version was like the minimalized and trained version of the man, conditioned.

“I can’t help loving you so much.” 

Baekhyun leaned forward to press his lips against the glass in what Chanyeol knew was supposed to cheer him up.

But it only reminded him of the separation and made him cry at not being able to touch the man.

***

The first things Chanyeol did during the days were wake up and walk into the closet shaped space to shed clothes and clean up.

It was hard, the last time he’d been forced to be cleaned with a rag had been when a stray bullet hit him when they were about twenty. And even then, Baekhyun was the one that usually cleaned him up back then.

Chanyeol would wake up to the smaller with a sponge and bowl of water, sitting beside the bed and wiping his chest clean.

And he was  _ always _ greeted by a tired kiss and by Baekhyun petting his hair back and saying:  _ Good morning, baby. Get some more rest so you will still be strong and handsome when it’s time to get up. _

The words were a bit childish now that he looked back, they were more like this innocent version of Baekhyun rather than his lover's normal fierceness.

It helped Chanyeol to not miss the older version of what he remembered Baekhyun to be, to look back on soft moments like that, because now he was slowly realizing that Baekhyun wasn’t much different now.

It was just that Baekhyun’s sweetness and softness had gotten buried around all of Chanyeol's memories of being pushed into walls with the elders love being whispered into his mouth, buried by the moments of physical sweetness more so than words of the kind.

Words that this Baekhyun had many to say.

Perhaps if the glass wasn’t separating them, there would be more physical sweetness just as Baekhyun used to do, but that wasn’t an option right now, so Chanyeol had to settle for what he could.

“How do you feel today?” He asked as he heard footsteps start up in the room over. “Baekhyun, please don't use all your energy up again,” He added gently.

The elder had more energy recently from all of the foods Chanyeol had been shoving into his room and also from his own basket of snacks he still called  _ presents.  _

But having a normal amount of energy didn’t mean the man should use it all up like a drained battery, but Baekhyun had done just that the day before.

“I was only coming closer,” Baekhyun mumbled, a yawn in his voice as he leaned into the corner of the wall, pressed into the glass at his front, “Good morning.” 

The UV light in the elders room flickered a few times as if malfunctioning and it made Chanyeol a bit concerned, stepping out of the bathroom to eye the light before it suddenly stopped it's trickery and turned on fully, brighter than before.

“Did you do that?” He wanted to sound excited, but couldn’t right now.

Baekhyun smiled and pressed his hands between his knees in a tired motion, resting his cheek to the glass, “I still  _ am _ myself you know.” 

Chanyeol very much did know, and he wanted to hug him and kiss his hair for the words.

But he couldn’t, and also couldn’t mind his nudeness as he walked over to the glass where Baekhyun was resting to press a kiss against it, “Your gift still makes mine want to escape.” 

Baekhyun didn’t have a collar like him, and it reminded Chanyeol that the man was on the “good side” of things here.

If only he could figure out how to tell Baekhyun to fight back, but the cameras wouldn’t allow for it and he knew he’d be wheezing in a pile on the floor if he even tried.

“I remember that,” Baekhyun grinned, but his eyes went from happy to curious as he realized Chanyeol's state and trailed eyes down his form.

Normally, Chanyeol would care a bit more about being naked - anyone could be watching these cameras - but, being trapped left little room for dignity, and this was  _ Baekhyun _ who had seen his body more than anyone alive.

And he knew the man remembered that also because Baekhyun chewed on his lip, then physically turned his head to look away as if he couldn’t stop his eyes from looking.

“You’re still adorable, love bug,” Chanyeol sighed with a smooth smile, quickly going to grab his bottoms to place back on.

“I find that I don’t feel uncomfortable at all looking at you like that.. because I’ve seen it so much?”

Chanyeol chuckled and laid his turtleneck top out on his cot to air dry from the water he’d splashed on it before moving to Baekhyun, “Of course. You’re usually the one starting such  _ adventurous _ things anyway. You can’t keep your hands to yourself, Baekhyunnie baby.” 

The smaller giggled and looked down to his fingers as if he could remember by looking at his palms, Chanyeol wasn’t sure if the elder could or could not.

“My skin isn’t soft anymore, but I wonder how yours is.” 

Chanyeol clicked his tongue in pity at the comment, “Don’t worry about such things right now, starlight. There are plenty of other things to focus on, like your health at the moment and trying to absorb more light energy.” 

Baekhyun didn’t seem to like that much at all, his fists curled together and his eyes twinkled with the same amount of anger he always had when someone disagreed with him.

Although the chances of him sending a beam at someone right now were little to none, and Chanyeol knew he could, he’d once nearly burnt a hole in Kyungsoo for so little as being teased too much.

“But I want to know,” Baekhyun huffed, “I want to know because it's so unfair that you remember and I don’t. It’s so unfair that I can feel things and not know why. It’s unfair that I want you to hold me and kiss me but I can only remember bits and pieces of who we even  _ are _ or were. 

All of this is just such  _ bullshit.  _ It’s  _ fucking bullshit  _ and I want to know how it feels to place emotions into actions and love you, how to not feel my stomach twist with need seeing you right in front of me. I’m fucking tired of pretending to understand when the truth is I can’t understand  _ shit!” _

The issue was, Baekhyun obviously did know things. He knew them enough to get angry about them, he knew them enough to scream in outrage.

He knew.

He just didn’t know what to do with all the information.

Chanyeol was always best at calming down his anger, the anger that was causing the light overhead to flicker erratically, and that made Baekhyun’s face pull together even more in absolute frustration.

“Hey, hey, Baekhyun. I need you to calm down, baby boy. I need you to breathe,” Chanyeol fussed, attempting to push fingers through the gaps but unable to do much more, “Sweet sunlight, my baby. Baekhyun, look at me. Look at me, beautiful.” 

Baekhyun was  _ known _ for his short temper and he was known for his emotions clashing with his gift.

“Love bug.” The younger sighed in relief when Baekhyun visually breathed through his mouth loudly to calm down, shoulders following his intake of breath every time. 

“That's good, baby. Just breathe, you’re doing so well. Now, I don’t want you to worry about those things right now; trust me, anytime you feel those things - that you want to kiss me, that you want to be held, I feel them  _ twice _ as badly. So badly, Baekhyun. 

Just know that. Just know that I want to hold you, and help you remember, baby.” 

“I-It’s hard.” The elder sniffed, “It's  _ so _ hard.” 

“I know, sh. I know, love bug.” Chanyeol sighed, resting his forehead by the slits in the glass, “Come here, beautiful.” 

Baekhyun scooted close, pressing his lips near the gap so closely Chanyeol could feel his warm breath, it made him smile and he wanted to cup the others jaw and kiss his tears away.

But they couldn’t do that, so instead he pressed his lips against the gap and felt Baekhyun’s the tiniest bit through the spaces.

He didn’t know if it even counted as a kiss, but he did know Baekhyun gasped against his mouth as if it did, and he felt much better at the smile the smaller gave him. 

***

Baekhyun was laughing, a full blown sort of laugh that could have lifted anyone’s spirits.

It certainly always lifted Chanyeol’s even if the reason for such laughter was because he was being teased or made a fool of himself.

It had happened before, in which he’d tried to impress Baekhyun but really ended up setting a plant in their room on fire or he’d tripped over his feet like a fucking loser.

Right now the incredible sound was because Baekhyun had the brilliant idea of asking Chanyeol about some adventures he’d been dreaming of.

Namely, about a waterfall.

It wasn’t exactly a proud moment of theirs, but Chanyeol had thought it was romantic back then, taking Baekhyun to a waterfall because they had to jump safe houses a lot and didn’t have time to really go on dates.

“We did  _ not!”  _ The smaller squealed, covering his cheeks with his palms.

Chanyeol grinned cheekily, “It was your fault! You told me,  _ it’s fine, nobody will catch us. _ And you’re very persuasive, Baek! Yifan just waltzed over to look for us and caught us nude in the water! Still to this day he teases us for being horny like teenagers - but it’s so  _ your _ fault.” 

Baekhyun whined and laid his hands over his whole face, the embarrassment clear on his features as he whined and laughed so hard his face was reddening.

“It’s not even the worst of the times we’ve gotten caught,” Chanyeol chuckled, “Once you decided to-“

Abruptly the light in Baekhyun’s room went out, which wasn’t necessarily odd, but what  _ was _ odd was the red light that took its place and the ringing echoing from a siren outside the door.

“What?” He heard Baekhyun whimper, arms holding himself and looking around fearfully.

Such a reaction was proof this wasn’t a common occurrence and Chanyeol got up to rush towards his window on his door and look outside of it.

He couldn’t see much other than doctors and nurses rushing past, all in the same direction.

Chanyeol’s heart started racing in fear, maybe Yixing and Luhan had gotten caught or something similar.

He wasn’t just going to give up without a fight when things had been going so horrible to begin with.

“Baekhyun, I need you to get away from the glass.” Chanyeol ordered, a hand on the back of his neck fiddling with his collar.

“W-what?” 

“Baby,” He whispered soothingly, “I need you to back up now.” 

He couldn’t find where it was latched on, and anytime he had previously tried to touch it before his fingers would be shocked instantly - a jolt down his spine.

Baekhyun looked up at him fearfully, the confusion swirling in his eyes and begging for answers as he stood up and scooted back, calf pressing into his bed frame.

Chanyeol worried what exactly to do since he couldn’t remove his collar, shaking his hands out with determination.

But he couldn’t think too much or else the consequences of them getting caught would scare him out of it.

He sucked in a heavy breath before placing his hands on the glass.

“Chanyeol..” He heard the smaller worry, but couldn’t soothe him at the moment.

As soon as Chanyeol started releasing his gift like he’d done once before against the glass, the shocks came in the form of muscle aching pain that caused him to groan, grit his teeth, and twitch his head to the side as if trying to relieve it.

But it was  _ nothing _ compared to the button he’d seen that old bastard use on him, it was nothing compared to the manual pain enforced by the camera watchers when he got too rambunctious.

He pressed on over Baekhyun’s yelling worries.

The lights went out and over the siren Chanyeol couldn’t hear anyone else, as if they were abandoning everything in the facility, and that pissed him off more at the thought that they were potentially being left here to  _ die.  _

Once he melted through the glass Chanyeol fell through to the other side with a groan, panting on his hands and knees as he tried to tug at the collar because when he stopped using his gift the collar stopped with the shocking, but the aftershocks still made him sweat and itch.

_ “Chanyeol!”  _

It felt worth it when a pair of bare feet came into his vision, feet that hadn’t touched real ground in over a year and it showed in how pale and unscathed they were. 

Arms were thrown around his back as if protective, and Chanyeol couldn’t cry right now at the touch, not as Baekhyun was, he could only find his feet and carefully step into the elders room whilst holding his waist.

“Chanyeol..” Baekhyun’s chin wobbled, his eyes teary as he looked up at Chanyeol, clutching his white top for dear life, “You’re warmer than I remember.” 

In the back of his mind Chanyeol knew they didn’t have time to do this right now, they didn’t know what was going on or if they were about to be harmed, but he cupped the smallers face against his own, taking a deep breath against his skin, finally able to see Baekhyun up close without the annoying glare the glass sometimes reflected.

“Chanyeol, Chanyeol..” The elder kept mumbling, fingers crawling up his neck and trying to work under his collar to grasp at his skin, “Chanyeol.” 

Baekhyun sounded absolutely enamored and in disbelief, feelings Chanyeol could relate to, but more important things were happening.

“I know,” Chanyeol replied with watery eyes and a smile, eyes shooting back and forth and he could see the spark of light hiding in Baekhyun’s teary eyes. “I know, starlight. I missed you too, love bug.” 

Baekhyun didn’t need to say it, he just scrunched up his nose as he released a pained noise and pressed his face closer to Chanyeol's.

The situation became apparent once more the moment Chanyeol heard fiddling outside the pitch black room, the sound of metal scraping and cursing outside of Baekhyun’s door.

Instantly he was pushing the weaker man behind his back, feeling hesitant fingers dig into his shirt and it was cute because Baekhyun was never a hider, he never shied away from a fight even if he knew he was losing.

Some changes were nice.

_ “No! We need to hurry up! Jongin just get in there.” _

_ “I can’t see shit, Soo! You know I have to be able to picture where I’m going to use my gift!” _

While Baekhyun dug into his spine in fear at the voices, Chanyeol grinned.

He smiled so wide it hurt, “I can  _ hear _ you fuckers!” He laughed, pulling Baekhyun with him as he walked to the door.

_ “Was that Chanyeol?” _

_ “Who the hell else would that be, Sehun?” _

_ “Well I don’t fucking know, Yixing said this was Baekhyun’s cell.”  _

After listening to seconds of bickering, Chanyeol didn’t even have it in him to want to yell at the few people he could hear for being fucking stupid because he was just so goddamn happy to hear their voices.

And even happier to see their stupid faces when Kyungsoo was literally lifting the metal door off the hinges.

“Chanyeol… I’m scared,” Baekhyun whispered into his top as footsteps started to come into the room.

“Don’t be,” He said instantly, “I just need a little light right now, can you do that? They need some light to help us.” 

Through the dark, he had to be very close to Baekhyun, he could see the miniscule nod and lip being chewed between his teeth.

“Just a bit, don’t use all your energy.” 

“Yeol? Where are you - we can’t all see in the fucking dark, asshole!”

Chanyeol just snorted at Jongdae's whining, wondering where everyone else was for a moment before Baekhyun suddenly had the light flickering over his head again. It wouldn’t stay one color, proof of how underused his gift was these days as it continued to flick from white to yellow to red. 

It didn’t matter, they had some light.

And standing right here were the youngest five of their family; Zitao was holding a gun as his gift wasn’t the most useful in situations like this, the guard outfit he and Sehun wore were so believable that Chanyeol knew he’d hear a great story about how the  _ fuck _ they pulled this off. 

“Baekhyun…” Kyungsoo whispered, looking at him like he was a ghost and Chanyeol knew if anyone missed the elder as much as him, it was Kyungsoo, because his gift of strength related to the earth similarly to how Baekhyun’s related to the sun, and they related to each other.

Baekhyun gripped his head in a way that suggested his head was hurting, too many rushing memories, Chanyeol reasoned and pet his hair softly.

“Okay this is cute and all,” Sehun muttered. “And I did miss you both but Yifan said to get out ASAP, and this  _ isn’t _ ASAP so let’s get on the fucking road.” 

“We can’t if we can’t see, and it’s obvious Baekhyun is unstable,” Zitao whispered, looking apologetic as he pointed at the erratic light above them.

Chanyeol couldn’t argue with that, but he could help, “I need this collar off. Get this off and I can create some fire; I’m not sick, Baekhyun is.”  _ To put it simply.  _

Jongdae cracked his knuckles and Chanyeol grimaced at what was about to come, “Let’s see then.” 

“Don’t fucking kill him,” Jongin commented dryly, impatiently bouncing on his feet.

For the shadow walker, it was always  _ go go go _ so it wasn’t too surprising he was anxious not knowing where he was going.

As soon as Jongdae touched the collar Chanyeol was screaming at the electricity; it was shocking him beneath the collar that was simply being a reactor for the waves.

“Don’t fucking kill him!” Kyungsoo barked worriedly.

“I need to go stronger!” Jongdae argued.

Chanyeol screamed and tried not to flail as his knees tensed up and his muscles felt like weights. 

As a person gifted with fire he wouldn’t quite be able to feel what a burn was like, but a burn from a different thing like Baekhyun’s light or Jongdae's electricity brought his attention to another world of pain even if everyone else always claimed fire was the worst. 

_ “Stop! It’s smoking!” _

It was like he could feel his cells burning away, making his heart race at the voltage being sent through him.

“I said  _ stop!”  _ Baekhyun screamed and suddenly Jongdae was pushed away and landed with a grunt on the cement, the eldest in the room was heaving as he pointed down at him, “I said  _ stop it!”  _ He hissed, a heavy look of anger on his face before he made a near hissing noise and turned to Chanyeol.

“I just got fucked up by a skeleton,” Jongdae huffed.

“You should have known better; even looking a hundred pounds soaking wet, Baekhyun would still beat your ass over Chanyeol, dumbass.” Kyungsoo deadpanned. “It’s like you’ve learned nothing at all.”

Chanyeol was sweating profusely, but catching his breath was easier now as Baekhyun was removing the collar and the sight underneath must not have been pretty because his dainty fingers touched the skin gently but it felt like pins and needles. 

“I’m o-okay,” He croaked, reaching up to remove Baekhyun’s hand and just holding it in his, “I’m okay. I’m okay, I’ve had worse.” 

Baekhyun didn’t look like he bought it at all, and Chanyeol supposed it was best he didn’t have those memories right now because his lover was  _ always _ the most protective of the two of them, even if Chanyeol seemed like it.

“Time is ticking,” Zitao worried, “I already froze it on our entry, so I need more time to breathe if I need to stop things again.” 

_ What a complicated and rare gift to have. _

“Okay, lets go,” Chanyeol coughed, grabbing Baekhyun’s waist and holding his hip against his own, because the last thing he was going to do was let the elder leave his side for even a second.

It took him a moment to light a flame in his palm bright enough to light up the area, but as soon as it did he saw Jongin jumping from beside him down to the end of the hallway, because he could finally see where he was going.

It must be a blessing and a curse to have such a hyperactive gift and as if reaffirming that thought he heard Kyungsoo grumble under his breath as his boyfriend jumped around as soon as Chanyeol's flame lit up a new hall.

Suddenly, a bit of the light that the fire was giving off was skewed and Chanyeol looked down, worried he was oddly growing tired so soon, but it was only because Baekhyun had a hand hovering over the top of the flame, circular mouth parted a bit.

It wasn’t necessarily the time, but it felt just as sweet as any other time when Baekhyun smiled up at him, “I remembered I can touch it, it doesn’t hurt me.” 

“Because I don’t want it to hurt you.” 

Baekhyun’s smile was just as pretty as he remembered, lips slightly chapped and his features sunken and tired, but still so pretty.

“Where is everyone?” Chanyeol mumbled, his arm resting around Baekhyun’s waist moving up to the back of his head and petting carefully. 

As if to answer, Zitao cleared his throat and kicked at something to his side in a doorway. 

Chanyeol didn’t need to look to know it was a body, and Baekhyun seemed to make the same assumption as he whimpered and hid under his arm. 

He couldn’t wait for Baekhyun to remember and realize exactly how sweet he’d been, he knew the other would pout about how innocent he’d been as if he’d never killed a person in his life when it was  _ far _ from the truth.

“Yoongi and Namjoon infiltrated the system with a virus. They seemed to have gotten a heads up before we arrived because there was little to no one to get rid of, we tried. Really, Yixing had slowly begun to remove cells of the old fucker as soon as he realized who he was, but we aren’t sure if it was enough yet.” 

In other words, Zitao meant Yixing had started destroying the man, had found the overseer and begun to slide a hand over his skin and with each pass the old man would lessen.

Yixing’s gift was a miracle, but it could also kill. It could force cells to die, to make a person into something as little as bones if he held long enough.

They could really only hope he’d gotten enough touches in and then what? Someone new would take his place.

The moral was that no matter what there would always be someone after their kind, hating their kind.

So Chanyeol didn’t care too much about killing the old fucker now, he just wanted everything to stop. And for him to have time to heal Baekhyun.

Of course things like that didn’t come easily, they didn’t go smoothly, and no matter what they would always be rejected and seen as dangerous.

And that’s how the world worked.

It was easy to get down the corridors and it was too easy to push through the swinging doors of the facility and help Baekhyun over smashed vials of who knew what, because the both of them were barefoot, but Chanyeol wasn’t nearly as tired as the other, this was a lot of walking for Baekhyun, a lot of stress.

Chanyeol wasn’t really surprised at the lined up guards outside, the government vehicles set up as defense, stopping them from walking any further than the doorway of the bottle floor of the facility.

_ Of course things couldn’t go that easy.  _

But, he was surprised when Baekhyun pushed himself off Chanyeol's hip and rushed to the front with more strength than he seemed to have.

“Baekhyun!” Chanyeol hissed, scrambling towards the man because the red lights of guns were all on him.

“Cover your eyes!” Chanyeol didn’t really process what Baekhyun was screaming, but Sehun’s hand was reaching around to cover his eyes before he could process, as if he knew that Chanyeol was panicking about Baekhyun being there. “Cover your eyes!”

Chanyeol could still see a bit of whiteness through both Sehun’s hand and his shut eyes, and it wasn’t hard to know what Baekhyun was doing. 

Baekhyun  _ screamed _ as he lit up everything - the lights on the lasers of guns, headlight, post lights in the distance.

It sounded like absolute agony, and after moments there was only heavy breathing to be heard.

Knees hit the pavement and that’s when Sehun released his eyes. 

Chanyeol had to blink away the white from his vision, trying to focus on the noise of Baekhyun’s breathing as if the man had just ran miles; as soon as his eyes started focusing, he was dropping down to roll the smaller onto his back, uncaring of all the dirt staining the elders clothing. “Baby. God- baby.” 

_ He was so proud. _

All of the guards were steaming. 

Literally, the light Baekhyun had released and amped up burnt their eyes, all the way through. Even the guns had exploded at the intensity; headlight glass was scattered all over the dirt and there was only a single post lamp attempting to stay on, but it quickly popped too, as if the energy had just depleted.

It was silent and it was dark, just the way they wanted it to be.

Baekhyun smiled, his eyes two little crescents as he tried to stay awake, his fingers curling just the smallest bit around Chanyeol's pant leg with little to no energy. 

“That was fucking sick,” Jongin screamed, hands tugging at his hair and gawking.

“I did good?” 

Chanyeol laughed in disbelief, “You did fucking amazing. Amazing, I’ve never seen you do shit like that ever. Magical, starlight. Fuck- Baekhyun, you just saved all of us, you won’t understand exactly what that means right now, but you will.” 

“He alright?” Chanyeol heard Kyungsoo asked quietly over the others screaming of disbelief, kneeling down on Baekhyun’s other side.

“He just has no energy,” Chanyeol answered, palm resting against Baekhyun’s cheek and petting his thumb over the bridge of his nose; Baekhyun was visually stunned and his muscles were shaking with exhaustion. “They were torturing him, I just hope once he sees the sun again that he’ll heal better.” 

“I was wondering what the hell was going on with his hair.” 

Chanyeol snorted, finding amusement in Kyungsoo’s claim because for once Baekhyun  _ finally _ had a normal hair color. 

Although he had no room to talk about normal colors when his was so red, but he’d much rather see the blinding white of Baekhyun’s hair and know he was healthy, because that’s what such a thing meant, and he knew the comment was Kyungsoo's way of acknowledging Baekhyun wasn’t well at the moment.

“Okay, baby,” Chanyeol murmured, rolling Baekhyun to sit up with a hand on the back of his neck, the other going under his knees, “Let’s get you safe. You can just sleep, love bug.” 

Baekhyun didn’t have the energy for much more than turning his head to press his face into Chanyeol's collarbone with a deep sigh.

“Now, where are we going?” 

Jongdae groaned, “We got a long walk.” 

“Then let’s start walking.” Chanyeol muttered.

Within a second of walking, Chanyeol found a shadow on his tail and if this was any other time he’d tease the youngest about doing these things.

But it wasn’t the time, and if his arms were free he just wanted to put the younger into a headlock and annoy him because he’d missed him so much.

“Yeol?”

“Yeah?” He turned a bit and saw Sehun scoot closer so Baekhyun’s feet brushed against his arm every step. 

“If you get tired, let me know and I’ll take him for a little.” Sehun mumbled, but his eyes said everything.

Everyone missed them, and Baekhyun didn’t know it yet, but he’d missed them just like Chanyeol did.

***

Chanyeol did have to give Baekhyun over to be carried around a few miles of walking, but it had less to do with being tired and more to do with the bottom of his feet bleeding.

Jongin had been adamant that he could try jumping around, but once Kyungsoo pointed out that they hadn’t been exactly to the meet up point before the younger had been all mean pouts and grumbles.

Glad to see their relationship hadn’t changed although Chanyeol very much would have preferred Jongin to take them back just teleporting because  _ fuck _ his feet were worn raw.

He hadn’t really noticed it the first few miles, too busy worrying about Baekhyun and every little noise he made which was mostly grimaces in his sleep and twitching.

But once Zitao pointed out his feet were leaving bloody prints, he kind of needed to take a break.

“Let me have him again,” Chanyeol murmured into his sleeve, wiping his eyes free of tiredness. 

Any little movement of his neck now was coming to remind him that it fucking hurt. All his adrenaline was gone and the hours were starting to remind his body to start paying attention to the pains he had again.

Kyungsoo sent him a disapproving look, but even if he was reluctant to give Baekhyun over because of Chanyeol's health, he still did. 

And at this point they’d all carried Baekhyun for at least a few miles without one complaint or whine about the added weight, so Chanyeol deemed his break long enough.

Plus, he was glad Baekhyun was asleep so the man didn’t have to feel unneeded guilt when Chanyeol explained he had little idea who everyone else was - if that. 

“Didn’t Yifan say they would be waiting below the mountain shaped like a hand?” 

Chanyeol wasn’t paying attention to the younger boys muttering that often because he hadn’t a clue and just cared they got to where they were going. 

“Sh, you’re okay,” He whispered instead as Baekhyun was jostled into his arms again, the elder crunching his face up before his eyes opened just the smallest bit, attempting to ball himself up. “It’s just me.” 

If he noticed that Jongin had rushed over to peer down at Baekhyun since Chanyeol's words suggested he was awake, Chanyeol didn’t point it out since he hated to see the excited grin on Jongins face as if he was ready to ask  _ Baekhyun hey, watch this! Baek, look at this!  _ the younger ones always looked up to him. 

But Baekhyun couldn't play with the younger boys right now, and even  _ that _ didn’t stop Jongin from his huge, wide smile at him before Kyungsoo was yanking his boyfriend away and scolding him for being obnoxious.

“Chanyeol..” Baekhyun sighed, voice fond and eyes falling shut for long periods of time again,  _ “Chanyeol.”  _

“I got you, beautiful.” The younger soothed, “Do you feel sick? You wore yourself out pretty hard.” 

Baekhyun grunted, crossing his hands over his chest with a heavy breath with his eyes still shut. “Sun is coming out.” 

Nobody else would be able to tell such a thing, as far as the eye could see it was still dark and silent.

Only Baekhyun could possibly know such a thing.

“Are you excited to see the sunrise?” 

“Mhm.”

“That’s good, starlight. We’re going to get you all fixed up and then you can lay out there forever if you want.” 

“Fix my head?” 

Chanyeol shifted his jaw in thought because  _ yes _ that was one of the things that needed to be looked into, Baekhyun couldn't just live without all those important memories.

Without knowing how to fight or about how much support his mother had given him, without important things like who his friends and family were.

Experiences that changed his perspective and strengthened him up without ever trying to blame normal people for their misfortunes as was common in so many people of their kind.

“You’re not broken, Baekhyun. But you  _ do _ need those memories, sweetheart. You need to know how to fight and how to train others, and about our family and how they got here, how  _ you _ got here.” 

“I need to know about us..” 

Chanyeol hummed his agreement because he was afraid that if he verbalized such a thing it would end in tears as it still felt like such a sensitive topic.

“Hey look! Hey! Guys!” 

Sehun started running off and Kyungsoo's hiss of disapproval was more than enough to know the youngest had been nothing but trouble the entire time they’d been kidnapped.

But, even if Sehun could be a little dull and reckless, he was only nineteen, so nobody really scolded him too much.

Plus, he had reason to get worked up this time, because two vans were waiting at the bottom of the hill; as soon as it was in sight Jongin was rushing off with the same amount of childishness Sehun had, and although Zitao and Kyungsoo were more reserved - he could see they internally wanted to do the same.

The relief was real.

“You’re back! You’re back! You’re ba-“

Luhan was smacked on the shoulder for being outright annoying, Junmyeon rolling his eyes at the elder as he bypassed him to approach Chanyeol.

It felt like everyone was staring at them at that point, all ten eyes on the pair and Chanyeol hadn’t realized how long it’s been since the twelve of them were all together.

_ Was it a year and a handful of months?  _

_ A year and a half?  _

He really couldn’t recall.

“Baekhyun..” 

Baekhyun startled, looking exactly the same as when Chanyeol had first said his name, lulling his head to look to the side at the group, “Hi.” 

“Hi,” Minseok laughed, the eldest raised a palm to his own mouth, a shaky hand as if unsure exactly what to say, what to do.

At this point it was obvious Luhan and Yixing had to have told them, the eldest ones at least, of Baekhyun’s condition.

“Hi,” Baekhyun repeated, fingers tugging at Chanyeol's shirt as if a bit uncomfortable- to be expected, he didn’t really know any of these people and all eyes were on them tearfully and adoring.

Chanyeol didn’t even care if they missed him, because he knew the exact feeling they had looking at Baekhyun; he could remember all the fights they’d got into with half of them saying Baekhyun had to be dead. 

And the other half refused to acknowledge that.

Chanyeol would forever refuse to admit which side of that argument he was always on. 

“Little brother, welcome back.” Junmyeon whispered, hands in his pockets as he stumbled closer, “Let’s get you taken care of, okay?”

Baekhyun nodded sharply, his eyes watering but Chanyeol was sure it was more from the odd feelings Baekhyun always referred to rather than knowing tears.

“Wait,” Chanyeol requested, voice hoarse as his throat was swollen from all the abuse to his neck in the past day.

It stopped the group from climbing into the vans right away, getting confused eyes from everyone.

“I promised Baekhyun he could see the sun come up.” 

Nobody said a word, they just took seats on the grass and waited.

Chanyeol would make sure Baekhyun got to see the sun again. Every single day.

***

The treatment for Baekhyun was a painful one.

One that involved Chanyeol being forced out of the room once back at the bunker, because he wouldn’t stand for Baekhyun’s crying.

It was painful to force someone to relive every event in their lives, to force Baekhyun to watch every death, scream, terror he’d ever encountered in one sitting.

It needed to be done, it had to be done to ensure his awareness and safety.

That didn’t mean Chanyeol had to like it.

Other than Baekhyun’s treatment he had to have treatments too, ones that involved Yixing attempting to heal his neck, but even then the broken capillaries would forever look like spider webs and his neck was still sore and bruised since there was only so much energy one healer could use.

Chanyeol wasn’t concerned with the physical appearance of the wounds, he was never one to care about such things when Baekhyun was the only person he cared about thinking if he was handsome or not. 

And Baekhyun had scars of his own now, ones much more pressing that shone in speckled white on his skin, so neither of them could really care for such stupid things.

Instead, Baekhyun cared about making sure Chanyeol wasn’t in pain and in return the other cared about the elders' hair that was slowly turning back to white from all his exposure to the sun.

And he cared about the light gold tone of Baekhyun’s skin that was slowly coming onto rounding cheeks, no longer pale and hollow.

And Chanyeol cared about the windows being open to allow the maximum amount of light for Baekhyun inside of their room. 

It didn’t matter if they’d have to move to the underground bunker soon, where all the others were hiding out, because as it was right now, Baekhyun had time.

And that’s all he really needed.

All the time in the world to bask in sunlight.

“Chanyeol!”

The man groaned at the pressure settling over his hips, soft palms pressing against his naked chest. 

All he knew was it was too early, because when he opened his eyes it wasn’t even sunny out yet, but Baekhyun smiled like he’d just had a blast of rays hit him.

Chanyeol huffed tiredly and ran his palm down the elders chest softly, a bit of a soothing action in an attempt to calm down Baekhyun’s excitement. “What are you yelling about so early?” 

“I couldn’t sleep,” Baekhyun explained, a huge smile on his face as he leaned down to press his chest flat onto Chanyeol's, his hips pressing into the younger's lower abdomen, “So I thought I would give you attention.” 

“Can you give me attention in a few hours?” Chanyeol murmured, cupping Baekhyun’s head to kiss his forehead, “It’s so late, love bug.” 

“Nope,” Baekhyun tsked, placing a playfully finger over Chanyeol's lips, “I feel like wanting to give you attention right this second!  _ Urgently!”  _

“Will you explode with love if I tell you to let me rest?” Chanyeol chided, kissing his finger although he was no longer tired; he hadn’t been the second Baekhyun had sent him such an excited smile.

Plus, the elder was pressing into regions that suggested  _ not _ so innocent intentions and that should have been expected.

Baekhyun whined playfully, peppering light kisses to his throat as if afraid anything more than a feather like kiss would hurt him. “I just have so much love for you, baby.” 

_ Forget trying to play hard to get, _ Chanyeol was laughing and smiling as he felt fingers touching his boxers at his hips, grasping Baekhyun’s chin between his fingers to quickly pull his face towards his and slot their lips together.

The elder giggled and was quick to take advantage of the situation by prying his lips apart with his tongue, fingers lingering along the shell of his ear and it caused Chanyeol to feel faint.

Mostly because he had wanted these things so bad and it felt like a dream to have him here.

Chanyeol hadn’t lied for a moment in that facility - without Baekhyun he was  _ volatile,  _ he was distant.

He was suicidal.

And  _ with _ Baekhyun they each mellowed the other out, so to not have that sort of support… a year of not having much more than the memory of these chocolate eyes being absolutely terrified - it was pure hell.

If that was hell, then this had to be some sort of heaven or Valhalla, because the moment Baekhyun had regained his memories it was flashing lights all over the hideout.

Lightbulbs burst, lamp posts nearby went out, anything with light mysteriously stopped functioning.

Because Baekhyun had absorbed the energy of them at such a fast rate it was  _ insane.  _ As if his memories allowed him to understand his powers potential more. 

He had been relieved sobbing when Baekhyun went bursting into the living room just to fall into his arms with the roots of his hair whitening leaving such an odd combination of black hair with white roots.

It would be something they’d be teased over, eventually, he knew that; that it would be a huge laugh how fast the pair were sobbing and curled together like one person on the sofa whilst the rest of the group pretended to ignore it.

That didn't last long, because Baekhyun was shortly up to give hugs and kisses to everyone else but always found his way back into Chanyeol's lap.

And that night, he’d whispered his appreciation in the glow of the window under Chanyeol, sweat beaded on his skin and hugging the man to his bare chest murmuring how absolutely horrible it must have been for Chanyeol and how  _ proud _ and  _ grateful _ he was.

Because not once had Chanyeol lied to him or tricked him, and when someone had no memories it would have been so easy to do so - to brainwash him into something impossible.

Baekhyun wasn't shocked he hadn’t, Chanyeol would have been offended if that was the tone he was getting from the man when they’d been in love so long and trusted each other immensely.

But it had only been pure appreciation, pure love, pure laughter and moans that fell between them.

Not a moment was wasted.

“Stop doing that face,” Baekhyun whispered against his mouth, lips curled into a smile as he trailed his thumb over the corner of Chanyeol's mouth, “It makes me want to cry.” 

“You don’t need to cry everytime I look at you like you’re amazing.” 

“I do. Because I love you so much and it only makes sense that I show my love with tears so you can kiss it better.” 

Chanyeol snorted at his logic, scratching his nails down Baekhyun’s spine to rest on the curve of his tailbone. “I love you.” 

Baekhyun’s smile softened from the slight mischievous expression he’d had, the pad of his thumb drifting down to Chanyeol's bottom lip as if such a thing was enchanting to see, watching his digit run along the curve of his mouth and only snapping from the gaze once Chanyeol pecked his fingertip. 

“I love you too, my ember,” He mumbled enchantedly, as if it required so little effort to formulate such a thing.

Chanyeol smiled and instantly was reminded of an innocent version of Baekhyun questioning what he called him and Baekhyun must have been remembering the same also because his cheeks turned a light shade of red and he chewed on his peachy bottom lip shyly.

“So sweet,” The younger whispered, rolling them over and pulling Baekhyun’s thigh over his hip, petting the naked skin softly and occasionally he would feel the small indents of circular scars. “Always so sweet, starlight. In any form you’re always  _ my Baekhyun.”  _

Such reassurance meant so much to Baekhyun, because this wasn’t the same man that had gone into the facility and it wasn’t the same man from inside the facility either.

He was different - softer and less aggressive than the man before all this, yet not as innocent or nearly as naive as the one inside.

He was  _ just _ Baekhyun, and Chanyeol didn’t prefer one over the other nor anything but Baekhyun in general. 

He just cared that this was  _ his Baekhyun.  _

“You’re such a sap.”

Chanyeol grinned and pecked the corner of his lips, “You’re the one that woke me up to have sex with you.” 

“Then why aren’t you making love to me?”

“Since you insist, love bug.” The younger cooed, resulting in giggles as he sat up to situate on his knees between Baekhyun’s legs.


End file.
